The Burden of Proof In Criminal Justice

Abstract

Whatever is thought to be the purposes of criminal punishment, one fundamental principle seems to have evolved in the jurisprudence of the common law legal tradition; that, before an accused person can be convicted of a crime, his guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. One may be tempted to conclude that the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt is alive and well and little more need be said of it. Unfortunately, this is not so and the principle has been severely eroded and is in danger of being crippled beyond recognition. The makers and interpreters of our law seem bent on the creation of exceptions to the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt for a host of insubstantial and unsubstantiated reasons.